Keaton or Chaplin

[Gothic Sponge]

Poll question: Keaton or Chaplin

[cleofus1]

1. both were great...

But the number one silent comedy genius is......Harold Lloyd...damn right!

[Gothic Sponge]

2. Harold Lloyd was great too!

[cleofus1]

3. he's my idol

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Harold's excellent, too!

The chase scene in "Girl Shy" has to be one of the greatest sequences ever filmed!!

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Buster by a nose...

Both were geniuses and both deserve to be lauded equally, but I like Buster a bit more for his visuals. Chaplin's humor aimed for the heart, but Buster's humor was definitely aimed for the eyes and brain...

[sir_captain]

6. No comparison

Buster Keaton was a great comedian (and perhaps Chaplin's equal in terms of pure comedy) but Chaplin was a super-genius of film and an artist on a level that Keaton couldn't come close to touching. At the peak of his career, Chaplin used comedy as only one element in his best films, like the sublime City Lights.

Those who are interested should check out one of Chaplin's later films, Limelight (overall, it's only so-so) in which Chaplin cast himself and Keaton (who was dirt poor and hadn't worked in years at the time) as two old washed-up clowns. Good stuff.